In the studies of guerrilla warfare, we still continue to pursue the vexed question of why militarily weaker groups defeat much stronger nations in guerrilla warfare. If war is a game, a bloody event, then why do irregular forces survive against the regular forces? What is so unique about the guerrilla that they could execute their tactics and strategy with inferior weapons against much superior weapons? Despite the experiences of fighting against the guerrillas for a very long time, why are these irregular forces still able to cause serious internal security threats to India? There are fascinating questions in guerrilla warfare which continue to pose serious questions in military studies. In the case of India, guerrilla warfare has existed for centuries - tribe against tribes, ruler against rulers, even today India faces serious security challenges from the guerrillas. One of the largest armed forces in the world, militarily well-equipped for any challenges coming from conventional warfare, still struggles in countering the guerrilla, as in this warfare the outcome of the war doesn’t usually depend on the investments of conventional forces alone. Even the strategic weapons and superior weapons that deterred the adversaries and avoided conventional war could not apply much of its doctrine in guerrilla warfare. In this article, the author explores some of the historical practices of guerrilla warfare, analysing what has changed to draw lessons for India while engaging in fighting against the Guerrillas.

For decades, scholars have concentrated on women’s empowerment and economic development. This research attempts to deliver an overview of the scholarly landscape. It highlights key trends, collaboration patterns, and emerging themes within the association between women’s empowerment and economic development. This study employs a bibliometric approach, utilising data from the Dimensions database covering publications published between 1994 and 2023. The facts show that the United States heads the way in this field, followed by the United Kingdom and India, which reflect global initiatives to enhance the understanding of women and its economic implications. Moreover, the explicit finding that fiscal policies are not gender-neutral but can be powerful tools for Women’s Economic Empowerment (WEE), with examples demonstrating direct causal links to increased female labour force participation and reduced unpaid care burdens, indicates that governments possess significant, often underutilised, policy levers beyond direct gender-specific programs to foster female economic empowerment.

The land border between Myanmar and the Indian states of Manipur and Mizoram is porous and restive. Thousands of civilians from Chin and Sagaing poured over the Indian border into Manipur and Mizoram to escape armed conflict between junta troops and rebel forces that followed the military’s seizure of power in a February 2021 coup d’état. These developments have raised concerns about the security of the shared border. Drawing upon media and government reports published from February 2021 onwards, this paper examines the implications of the exodus of Chin fleeing Myanmar to the two Northeastern states of Manipur and Mizoram in India.

Geographical landscape of Jammu and Kashmir ( J&K) supported the non-state actors in sustaining terrorism in the valley. Physical features also pose a serious challenge to the armed forces of India in mitigating militancy in the region. It is essential to examine how the terror groups have strategically exploited geography to advance and facilitate their violent activities. All the major terror attacks are planned and executed by taking into account geographical information to inflict the maximum possible casualties. This is in a region where the economy is mainly dependent upon tourism, agricultural products, handicrafts and untapped natural resources. The high level inter-dependency of geographical features and economy of the state resulted into a great economic depression during the peak period of militancy in the valley. The negative economic growth of J&K led to numerous challenges, including rising unemployment, overpopulation and depletion of limited resources. The changing socio-economic dynamics incited many local youth to join terrorist organisations. For the civil population, even meeting basic needs have become a pressing concern. Terror groups taking advantage of this situation to entice youth to join their outfits with fake promises of better lives. This analysis highlights how geography/physiography has played a pivotal role in the proliferation of terrorism through exploiting the economy, which is widely dependent on geography.

The 21st century has witnessed the cataclysmic shift of global power through newly rising geopolitical powers and the transition to multipolarity. The current study critically analyses how rising powers, particularly through initiatives such as China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), are remaking economic relations, affecting political stability, and reshaping the sovereignty of developing and underdeveloped nations in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Through thematic analysis of secondary data and case studies, the research brings into focus structural dependencies created through global power strategies and the implications thereof for economic autonomy and policy space in the Global South. The research points out the urgent need for more balanced, open, and multi-aligned development partnerships. By offering an elaborate familiarity with the evolving world, this research offers valuable information to policymakers, researchers, and development practitioners to help navigate impending challenges and to promote inclusive, sovereign, and sustainable development in the 21st century.

This year 2025, marks a significant event in the history of India-China bilateral relations, as both countries celebrate the 75th Anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties, dating from April 1, 1950. History all along stands witness to their evolving relationship, where both nations have seen the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. Yet, at this crucial watershed moment, both India and China seem to be envisioning a new future for themselves, quite unexpected and even fortuitous in the views of some. The recent visit of the Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Wang Yi to India from 18-19 August 2025 to hold the 24th Special Representatives’ Meeting on India-China border question, ahead of Indian Prime Minister, Mr. Narendra Modi’s upcoming visit to China to attend the Summit meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization from August 31 to September 1, 2025, breathes in fresh hopes and aspirations for a more balanced and harmonious India-China bilateral engagement, given the several initiatives that have been planned for execution at the political, diplomatic and military levels. This comes as an important development in world politics at a time most appropriately suited for the reconceptualisation and recalibration of India-China mutual equation, against the backdrop of recent shifts in international power politics, like the sudden dip in India-United States trade ties in the face of what India calls ‘unreasonable’ tariff imposition by the United States, or the unexpected closer engagements between India and Russia, to name a few, The research paper here seeks to explore and probe into some of the newly emerging facets of India-China bilateral negotiations and attempts to suggest a possible direction of their future engagements.